Transporting and positioning any heavy object poses a variety of problems and challenges in view of the weight, size, and potential breakage of the material. The large and unwieldy nature of a typical sheet of glass requires that the sheet be supported in an upright position during transport in order to prevent cracking and/or breaking.
Typically, manufactured sheets of glass are transported from a manufacturing facility to a “finishing” facility for final preparations including cutting, heating, tempering, laminating, glazing, sealing, etc. Once manufactured, the sheets of glass are loaded onto a truck for transport to the finishing facility. The sheets of glass are placed in a crate and the crate is placed onto the truck in an upright or slightly leaning position. At the finishing facility, the rack holding the sheets of glass are removed onto a dolly, in an upright position, and maneuvered in and around the facility to the cutting and glass receiving finishing table. It is often difficult to find a suitable means for supporting sheet glass in an upright position during rolling and for maintaining upright stability when obstacles at the worksite are encountered. Furthermore, it is difficult to remove or tip the sheets of glass, for example, from the dolly rack and place them flat onto a cutting and/or finishing table without cracking or breaking the glass.
For safety reasons, manufactured sheets of glass should always be transported in an upright position, as stacking sheet glass vertically can cause dangerous cracks. Glass should never be stood on a hard floor such as concrete; such placement can start cracks in the glass. The application of uneven forces to a manufactured sheet of glass will cause it to shatter or crack.
In view of the foregoing issues related to the transport of heavy, slab-like objects, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for transferring the objects from one location to another within a facility without the risk of breaking the object. For example, as described above, sheet glass is especially prone to cracking and breaking if not handled properly. The critical stage during the manufacturing and finishing process is transport and tipping from the delivery truck to the finishing table. The finishing table is very stable and of a specific height. In many circumstances, if the dolly or trolley crate bottom is not in proper alignment with the finishing table; or the bottom edge of a glass sheet while resting on the dolly crate is not parallel to the surface of the table; or the resting surface of the dolly, upon which the glass sheet rests, is not at least as high as the surface of the finishing table; the glass manipulator will risk not having the glass sheet fall evenly onto the table (FIG. 5) and will therefore be especially prone to cracking and breaking.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a glass sheet transport apparatus having and lateral supports to stabilize the sheet or slab-like object in the upright position.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a pivotable transport apparatus, wherein the height (HR) of the apparatus platform rack or crate (70), on which the glass sheets are resting, is of a customized height wherein the height is aligned to be coplanar with the height (HT) of the finishing table (60), thereby allowing the glass sheet to fall (75) onto the finishing table without cracking or breaking. An associated object is to provide a transport apparatus which eliminates or minimizes safety concerns associated with the need to manually handle heavy and unwieldy racks of glass so as to precisely position the glass sheets for manufacturing, finishing or other activity.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pivotable transport apparatus having one stationary leg on which the apparatus can pivot and at least two other legs having swivel casters upon which the apparatus can move or swing from one locale to another. An associated object is to provide a transport apparatus which reduces the factory floor space required to replenish materials being cut or otherwise consumed. Yet another associated object is to provide a transport apparatus which reduces lost production time encountered when material being consumed is replenished.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals referred to like parts.